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Abstract

THE UTILIZATION OF INTERNET FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AMONG PIONEER MEDICAL STUDENTS IN A NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY

Titus Onyi* and Rebecca Titus

ABSTRACT

Background: The benefits of internet for health information are enormous. These include health and academic needs of medical students. The utilisation of internet for health information had not been researched on the pioneer medical students of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ATBU, Bauchi, Nigeria .The study therefore examined the pattern of internet use for health information among these students. Objectives: The study assessed: the frequency of use of internet and internet for health information; the nature of the health information accessed; the search engines and websites accessed for obtaining health information; the perceived helpfulness of internet for health information and the perceived barriers in the use internet for health information. Method: Self-designed, 25-item questionnaires were administered to 40 pioneer medical students of ATBU. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23 and Microsoft Excel 2013. Results: The response (n=40) was high for daily internet access and for daily internet use for health information. The health information sourced was mostly for academic research and personal health information. Most students perceived the internet as an easy and helpful tool and mostly utilised Google search engine and PubMed website. Poor internet access and internet search skills and costly phones were perceived barriers to internet use for health information. Conclusion: The students had good use of internet for health information. However, there are gaps in the optimal use of websites and search engines for health information. Strengthening e-health and improving internet search skills will optimize health information from the internet.